Recipes: Your Welcome Sequence

What should go in your welcome sequence?

This is a question that’s answered a million times on the internet AND YET it’s actually pretty hard to parse everyone’s opinions on it and turn it into something you can use.

That’s what Rose Thomas Bannister brought to my attention last week.

She was cranking out her welcome sequence and she just wanted a quick run down.

What should actually go in here? How many days apart? Are these sales emails?

I get it. It’s like those recipe sites with the whole life story of the chef when you just wanna make a batch of cookies.

So go preheat the oven! I’ve got three welcome sequence recipes ready for you to bake 🍪 

This is part of the new Paid Sub Playbook. If you’re not a Playbook subscriber, you can join us here. It pays for itself if you get just one extra subscriber out of it!

🗞️ In this edition:

• The What/When of Welcome Sequences

• Welcome Sequence Recipe 1: Get to Know Us

• Welcome Sequence Recipe 2: Buy In to Us

• Welcome Sequence Recipe 3: Thanks for Buying In

• Swipe Files: Welcome Email Examples

I don’t ride that hard for welcome sequences so this issue will not convince you to care about them if you don’t already.

But I will say I’ve been surprised about how much intel I’ve gotten from new readers in replies to even a single welcome email and also how many purchases people have made before getting to know me. I noted a couple of ways to make those things happen in the recipes.

✏️ Welcome Sequence Recipe 1: Get to Know Us

Sent to: New free readers (not yet paying)
Purpose: Get your new readers building a habit around your publication.

Email 1

Goal: Get them to open this email (tells their email provider they want your emails)

Subject line examples:

• You made it! Have a look around.

• Stuff you never knew about [TOPIC]

• Here’s what to expect from [PUBLICATION]

Body prompts:

• Confirm what they just did: make it clear they got onto your list

• Tell them who you are: ideally written from perspective of one reporter (even for newsrooms)

• A photo: of you, the team or the thing you cover

• High level explain the publication: what you cover and how often (not too much detail!)

• Give them one action they should take next: a reply, a move to primary inbox, a quick poll, a follow on social media, one story to read or a subscribe/donate button.

Email 2

Goal: Make them feel connected to what you’re doing

Subject line examples:

• Your weekly dose of [TOPIC]

• You’re about to be the most knowledgable friend on [TOPIC]

• How to use [PUBLICATION]

Body prompts:

• Open with a hook: why might they care, why do you care, why is building a habit around your work important in their life or work.

• Testimonial: use a current fan testimonial to help your new reader get excited about being your next fan. Something funny or relatable.

• Lay out their options: explain your publishing schedule, let them know how to access RSS (if relevant) or tell them where to get breaking stories if not in the inbox (social or the web).

• Encourage them to cement one habit: check for the weekly email, bookmark our website, follow on one other channel, join our WhatsApp group, etc.

Email 3

Goal: Introduce them to the reporters

Subject line examples:

• Meet the team behind [PUBLICATION]

• Bet you didn’t know [REPORTER NAME] was [FUN FACT]

• I’m writing you from the back row of a City Council meeting right now

Body prompts:

• Establish a human connection: open with a quick anecdote or funny line about you or the team. Maybe it’s where you usually report from, something about your “office” or a story behind how you got the story.

• Introduce yourself in more depth: share some background on why you do this work or run through a few quick team member bios.

• Add photos if you have ‘em!

• Close out with an action: direct them to today’s coverage or your latest story (use an evergreen link like publication.org/latest) or ask them to forward to a friend.

Email 4

Goal: Expand the channels they’re following you on so they see you more often

Subject line examples:

• Where else to get your fill of [PUBLICATION]

• Did you know we have a podcast?

• Not that into email? Find us in these places too!

Body prompts:

• Share the purpose of this email: acknowledge that inboxes are messy and that they may not be into newsletters. Let them know you want to show them other ways to access your posts.

• Lay out the channels: ideally it’s no more than 3 (don’t give them every social channel, just pick 1 or 2 where you are most active). Other channels might be your RSS feed, your podcast, your YouTube or your Discord community.

• Let the reader know how they can weigh in: great opportunity to explain how to share story tips with you or post comments.

Email 5

Goal: Show them the impact of your work

Subject line examples:

• We were the first to break the news on [NOTABLE STORY]

• Your electric bill is lower because we found out the city was overcharging everyone

• What [PUBLICATION] readers say about us

Body prompts:

• Highlight an impact example: a story you broke, a testimonial from a reader who can’t live without your work, or a piece of policy that changed because of you.

• Back up your example with a story: connect the impact to a story

• Repeat if you’ve got more! 1-3 of these examples are great.

• Tee up the buy moment: remind them they can become a paid subscriber or contribute financially and give them that button once more

✏️ Welcome Sequence Recipe 2: Buy In to Us

Sent to: New free readers (not yet paying)
Purpose: Get as many new readers paying or donating as you can right away.

Email 1

Goal: Get them to open this email and pay

Subject line examples:

• You’ve just become part of our mission to [MISSION]

• Together, we can [GOAL]

• This is not just a passion project

Body prompts:

• Welcome them to your world: confirm they did indeed make it onto the mailing list and offer a warm welcome to your publication.

• Dive into your mission: lead as much as possible with why they should care and why their life as an individual is impacted.

• Add an impact kicker: you won’t have enough room to go too much into impact but you can add a line or two about the bigger picture.

• Include a persuasion bit: like a paid reader testimonial or a quick rundown of perks they’ll receive.

• Make the ask: seed one price point (one subscription tier or one donation amount) and ask them to take the leap. Include a big button.

Email 2

Goal: Get them excited about perks

Subject line examples:

• Our subscribers get access to [PERK]

• Don’t you want to party with [PUBLICATION]?

• Your friends will ask where you got that [MERCH PERK]

Body prompts:

• Open with something relatable: you can be extra self-aware that you hate selling to your readers but someone’s gotta do it or you can open with a funny bit about one of your perks like maybe who was the last to leave your launch party.

• Make it clear what action you need from them: remind your reader that this email is about why they should become a paid supporter of your publication.

• List the perks: bullet points work great! Pictures are even better!

• Include testimonials: ideally 1 per perk if you have ‘em!

• Close with the call to action: give them one clear action, one price point, one link (and the big button!)

Email 3

Goal: Make them aware of how much stories cost to produce so they want to pay

Subject line examples:

• It costs [PRICE] to do WHAT?

• This story on [TOPIC] cost [PRICE]

• Turns out [PUBLIC RECORDS FEES] cost money

Body prompts:

• Reinforce the state of journalism through the lens of your publication: why are you independent, what’s at stake for your reader and for you, why must you continue.

• Tell the story behind the story: choose a story that was expensive, even in labor costs and also if you have other costs (travel, public records, equipment, etc)

• Break down the costs: bullet it out if you are open to it or give the reader a ballpark of what it cost

• Remind them you should be well compensated: assume they agree and also, ensure that they do by telling them what goes away when you have to chase down money from other sources (be it philanthropy or freelance work)

• Hit em with the action: give them that button to subscribe or donate

Email 4

Goal: Encourage them to picture themselves as one of your paying subscribers

Subject line examples:

• What our readers say about why they subscribed

• [READER NAME] from [CITY/COMPANY/PUBLICATION] said they can’t live without us!

• [Use a quote from a testimonial as the subject line]

Body prompts:

• Acknowledge the paradigm: readers are used to being asked for money by publications and nonprofits so address that off the bat and switch the framing from “help me change the system” to “help me help you.” Why does your work matter to your individual reader?

• Give a few examples from real readers: use actual testimonials, social posts, replies you’ve received (ideally with names but even anonymous is ok) to share why readers pay you. You want your new reader to think “that sounds like me!”

• Add a photo if you have one of a reader wearing your merch or an event you did or use a screenshot of a social post from a reader.

• Emphasize the individual impact: call out potential motivations your individual reader might have, especially if your work goes away or if they lose access to it. What’s the upside/downside for them?

• Make the ask: share the button and get them jazzed to give you money!

Email 5

Goal: Enlist your reader in your future endeavors

Subject line examples:

• What to expect from [PUBLICATION] in [SEASON/YEAR]

• Our plans for [HIRING/COVERAGE/CITY/etc]

• What if [FUTURE REALITY] was possible?

Body prompts:

• Restate how far you’ve come: emphasize when you launched or a couple lines about your impact already. Remind the reader how impressive that is.

• Paint the future state: where is your publication going? What do you want to be possible? Maybe it’s doing this full time or bringing in another reporter to cover a different topic or being able to travel to get better coverage.

• Lay out why that costs money: you can share detailed info about expenses here (that usually helps!), you can share high level milestones or you can just say that it costs money.

• End on hope: reinforce how great it would be if this future was possible faster and what could be achieved if so.

• Get ‘em clicking: offer your subscribe or donate button and direct them with exactly what to do.

✏️ Welcome Sequence Recipe 3: Thanks for Buying In

Sent to: New paying subscribers (or readers who just donated)
Purpose: Set up your new subscriber to get what they bought and to stick around longterm.

Email 1

Goal: Fulfill the thing they just bought

Subject line examples:

• Woohoo! You’re now a [SUBSCRIBER/SUPPORTER] of [PUBLICATION]

• You’ve now got access to [PERK]

• Welcome to the ranks of [PUBLICATION] [SUBSCRIBERS/SUPPORTERS]

Body prompts:

• Confirm their action: make it clear what they just did and do so in a fun, exciting way.

• Fulfill their perks: if they got access to more stories or get merch or event invites, explain how all that works. Use bullet points if it’s more than 2 things.

• Thank them: offer your gratitude for their support and if you want, make yourself available to help with any issues or questions re: their subscription or donation.

• Ask why they paid: if there’s room and if there’s not much they need to do to access perks, ask them to give you a testimonial or a shout out right while it’s fresh! Include a button to a form or to your favorite social channel (and include your handle for a tag)

Email 2

Goal: Make sure they take advantage of perks so they stay happy

Subject line examples:

• Did you know you also get [ACCESS TO A PERK]

• We’ve got a behind the scenes podcast, just for subscribers!

• Now that you’re a subscriber, you also get [PERK]

Body prompts:

• Thank them again: open with a different way of thanking them for jumping on board your mission.

• Highlight one perk: choose the most important one that either most subscribers miss or that would make most subscribers keep renewing their support. Explain how it works, why they should care and how to get it.

• Make accessing that perk the main action: give them a big button or clear link to get that perk (whether it’s on your site or is a form for merch fulfillment)

• Close out in a friendly way: make a joke, make them feel welcome or thank them again.

Email 3

Goal: Make them feel like this is now a dialogue

Subject line examples:

• You’ve got tips? We wanna hear ‘em!

• Keep those comments flowing!

• Here’s how to tell us everything we’re doing wrong.

Body prompts:

• Start with why you care: explain why you care about their input. This could focus mainly on breaking new tips or it could be comments on stories to keep the community lively.

• Tell them how to do it: commenting on stories (how to log in), a link to your tip line or a survey/channel where they can share general feedback.

• Close with an invitation: make them feel like you want their feedback (if you do) and if you have guidelines or parameters (like “keep it PG!”) say that too.

• Don’t forget the big action button to get them logging in or filling out the form.

• Optional to add other perks in the PS if you have a lot of them so they can pick those up too if they ignored the first emails.

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